Electronic enclosures

Electronic Enclosures is a market segment which includes primarily the outer enclosures of consumer and information technology equipment such as: televisions, desktop or notebook computers, monitors, printers, copiers, household appliances, etc. International standards provide that the plastic materials used for these enclosures usually should meet high fire safety standards such as the UL-94 V0 or similar flame retardant specification

Today the selection of the flame retardant resin system for enclosures is heavily driven by fire safety standard, cost, performance, and health and environment requirements. Albemarle offers a wide range of choices from the standpoint of cost and performance which can help users meet these requirements. These choices are all in compliance with the EU RoHS Directive.

Critical performance selection criteria for these flame retardant plastics often include:

• Good processability (high melt flow, high thermal stability, no blooming/plate out)
• Good mechanical properties (high impact strength)
• Good thermal resistance (high Heat Deflection Temperature or HDT)
• Good UV stability for some applications

The most common resins used for these applications are high impact polystyrene (HIPS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Polcarbonate/ABS (PC/ABS) alloy, and HIPS/polyphenylene ether (HIPS/PPE) alloy, and polypropylene (PP – appliances).

SAYTEX 102E flame retardant has suitable performance for a very broad range of plastics, used most commonly for enclosures in HIPS and PP.  It is often the first choice as a low cost, highly efficient (low loadings to reach high flame retardancy) flame retardant.  It is used most often in dark color applications or those application where UV stability is not important.

SAYTEX® 8010 flame retardant is the most cost effective alternative to Saytex 102E flame retardant.  It also exhibits high efficiency and has a very large application breadth, used most commonly for enclosure applications in HIPS and PP. It offers extra performance such as high thermal stability, good UV stability, and lower bloom.  Plastics such as HIPS which are flame retarded with Saytex 8010 exhibit excellent mechanical recycle performance, which is an increasingly important criteria for selecting enclosure plastics. 

SAYTEX BT-93 flame retardant offers premium performance in a broad range of applications. It displays similar efficiency to Saytex 102E and 8010 in HIPS.  Combining high UV resistance with very high thermal stability, very good mechanical recyclability, and low bloom, SAYTEX BT-93 is a popular choice for resins used in office automation equipment, such as photocopiers and printers, where UV stability is an important performance criterion.

SAYTEX CP-2000 flame retardant is widely used in ABS enclosures. It melt-blends into these systems, resulting in excellent melt flow and impact strength, and moderate-range UV and thermal stability.

NcendX® P-30 liquid phosphorus (nonhalogen) flame retardant is an outstanding performer in PC/ABS and PPE/HIPS blends. It actually improves resin melt flow and exhibits outstanding thermal stability, excellent hydrolytic stability, low migration and low volatility.  This helps avoid cracking and juicing phenomena common with other phosphorus flame retardants, such as triphenylphosphate (TPP) and resorcinol diphenyl diphosphate (RDP), for these applications.

(Learn more from our “Solutions Datasheet,” Highly Effective Flame Retardants for V-0 HIPS Electronic Enclosures compliant with EU RoHS Directive.)

Product		Composition	Platform	Synergist	Physical form	Contact us
SAYTEX® 102E		Decabromo- diphenyl oxide	Bromine	ATO	Powder
SAYTEX® 8010		Ethane-1,2-bis (pentabromo- phenyl)	Bromine	ATO	Powder
SAYTEX® BT-93		Ethylenebis- tetrabromo- phthalimide	Bromine	ATO	Powder
SAYTEX® BT-93W		Ethylenebis-tetrabromo-phthalimide	Bromine	ATO	Powder
SAYTEX® CP-2000		Tetrabromo-bisphenol-A	Bromine	ATO	Powder
SAYTEX® 120		Tetradecabromo- diphenoxybenzene	Bromine	ATO	Powder
NcendX® P-30		Bisphenol A Bis-(Diphenyl Phosphate)	Phosphorus	None	Liquid